Author
Topic: Anybody here play an instrument? (Read 858 times)

Yes? No? Thinking about it? Share your thoughts. Perhaps information on what you play, how long you've been playing, and whatever else.

Me, well, I've been playing the double bass since I was in third grade. Definitely a fun instrument, and you get a helluva lot of attention playing in an ensemble due to the lack of bass players.

Recently I've been learning bass guitar. It is almost way too easy for me, but it is once again a fun instrument. I enjoy jamming to "Sunshine of Your Love" by Cream.

Sometime during the summer I hope to pick up both Electric Guitar and drums. Those two instruments really fascinate me, and perhaps one day I'll be able to start my own one-man rock band. Live shows/tours would be a bitch.

Sorry if this is a redundant thread, but the search feature here is kind of weird. I'll pass the torch to someone else now...

Making the transition from upright bass to electric bass is surprisingly easy. I started playing bass on electric and took up the upright about 10 years into playing bass. All told I guess I've been playing for 18 years now.

I found that when I had played the upright bass for an extended period of time, it was easier to transition to the bass guitar afterward. And truth be told, it's only natural. It's a smaller instrument, and the smaller scale length is a lot easier to deal with. First position is nowhere near as much of a stretch for your fretting hand. And intonation is nowhere near the issue it is on upright if you're playing a fretted bass.

"Sunshine of your love" was one of the easier tunes I initially learned on bass guitar. Jack Bruce is amazing, although I don't think that's some of his best work. I think I'm a little more partial to John Paul Jones and Paul McCartney's bass playing.

As for what I do with the instrument? I do some bar cover gigs, but the majority of my work is with original music projects. I've worked on about 8 or 9 independent records. I've got a project with some other musicians to produce hip-hop backing tracks. I play some sessions here and there. And I'm doing a little production. It's pretty cool. It definitely beats the bar/cover/blues gigs that I get offered. It's a lot more artistically satisfying.

Logged

"You were entrusted to lead the Republic." - Vote for Ven Zallow from THE OLD REPUBLIC in figure polls!